Requirements
Criteria and Guidelines
Prospective scholarship recipients must complete all sections of the application and submit all required materials for consideration. Please review each requirement carefully and ensure everything is complete before submitting.
Important Dates
- March 20, 2026 — Application deadline; all materials must be submitted by this date.
- April 15, 2026 — All applications will be reviewed; applicants who have advanced will be notified.
- April 2026 — Interviews with the Scholarship Committee will be conducted throughout the month.
- May 1, 2026 — Scholarship award notifications will be completed.
Criteria & Requirements
- Be a graduating high school student from high school by June 2026.
- Must be a resident of the greater Houston area.
- Submit one letter of recommendation from a school counselor, teacher, or administrator.
- Provide one letter of recommendation from an organization you have volunteered for, with at least a minimum of 1 year of community service.
- Submit one 3×5 color headshot (this photo will not be returned).
- Submit your high school transcript.
- Must have an unweighted GPA of 2.5 or higher.
- Submit a typed essay with the following requirements:
- Title Page including: First and Last Name, Name of High School, Anticipated Date of Graduation, and Date of Submission.
- 12-point Arial or Times New Roman font.
- Double-spaced.
- Maximum of 300 words.
- Essay Prompt: “Why Community Service Is Important”
- Essays must be an original submission. Applicants should not use Artificial Intelligence (ChatGPT, Copilot, etc.) to write their essay, and must avoid plagiarism. AI use and plagiarism within submitted essays will be verified.
- Must complete a scheduled interview with the Scholarship Committee if you advance to the next round of the process.
- Must be recommended by the Scholarship Committee and the Delta Education Charitable Foundation Board to receive the award.
- If selected as a scholarship recipient, you must provide proof of college enrollment to the committee (Example: enrollment certificate, class schedule, or fee schedule) before funds will be released.